A Kitten in the Palace
by IrishArcher
Summary: Summary: Accidents happen, but when you're a "mad" scientist, they can be a little more extreme. Due to an accident in her father's lab, fifteen-year-old Alison Harding can turn into a cat. She knew that wouldn't be the last mistake her dad ever made, but she certainly wasn't expecting to show up in a different realm- a different universe!
1. Chapter 1

**Soo... First time author here. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I have not, do not, and most likely never will own Marvel.**

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Being a shape-shifter isn't necessarily easy, but it is a whole lot more interesting. My name is Alison, but my friends call me Ali. At least they would if I had any friends. I mean, I have Kate, my lovely assistant/partner in crime, but that's about it. Not that I need anymore. Kate's awesome. Anyway, you might find it useful to know, I'm a cat. Sometimes. When I want to be. Dad doesn't like it when I turn into one, says it reminds him of his failures and whatnot, but it's really fun. It hurt at first, but I got used to it, so now I do it all the time.

I also like to sneak into Dad's lab all the time when he's not home. He doesn't want me to go in there, after what happened "last time", but he doesn't have any security (besides a lock, which Kate can pick easily), so we just waltz right in. He's got so many cool gadgets in there, it's hard to believe he's not famous. But he doesn't broadcast or sell any of his stuff to the public, just to private little companies that need it. He stopped working with genes after the incident, so now he's a purely mechanical engineer.

On one such sneaking occasion, after Kate and I watched _The_ _Avengers_ in theaters and our minds weren't completely normal yet, we walked in and saw a machine. We hadn't gone in in a while because Dad was always working on something in there, so now we finally got to see it. It was shaped more or less like a box, about the size of an oven, with some weird switches and things. Kate, being Kate, immediately went over and flipped a switch. Nothing happened.

"Eew, it's wet!" She remarked. I came over.

"Could be toxic. Maybe you should wash you hands."

She laughed, but went into the restroom anyway. I looked down at the machine. I had the sudden urge to touch it, so I reached out, and placed both hands on the top.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-

My eyes widened. I tried to yank my hands back, but I couldn't. They were stuck.

-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-

I felt the machine vibrating. _Crap._ Was it just me, or were my hands staring to glow? At the last moment I remembered something.

"KATE!" I screamed,

ZAP!

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**A/N Hey guys, this is my first fic, so be nice. The wetness was just water, I only did that to get Kate out of the picture. She's important though! She'll come back if I do a sequel. Tell me what you think, I probably won't post very often, but I'll try my best.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Hope you enjoy! Thank you, Rubi Yuki, for your lovely review, and thank you everyone else who doesn't think my story is complete rubbish! I really didn't expect to have any followers this soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Thor _or _The Avengers_. If I did, I would be rich enough to buy my own laptop, instead of sharing with my sister.**

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I woke up with a crick in my neck. I was lying in a rather uncomfortable position in a small, dark room, most likely some sort of broom cupboard. _Where am I?_ I thought. I sat up, and looked around. To my right I saw the outline of a door, so, being a naturally curious person, I opened it.

I was met with blinding, golden light. I blinked, trying to get my eyes to adjust. What I saw took my breath away. I was in a golden hall with endless, intricately carved columns stretching off to my right, and a large, open balcony on my left. The sun was just coming up, and, looking out, I saw a city. A strangely familiar city. _Whoa, whoa, whoa, NO. It can't be. I can't be in Marvel Universe, and I certainly am not in-_ my thought was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. I quickly darted back into the broom cupboard and did the only thing I could think of: I transformed. I felt my bones shrinking, bending, felt the soft, black fur sprout up from my body. The tail was always the weirdest part. Every bone in my body was shrinking except one, which was growing longer and thinner, covering itself in muscle, skin, and fur as it went. When my transformation was complete, I shoved my discarded clothes into a dark corner, and nudged the door open with my fuzzy head.

_Oh, my gosh..._ was my first thought as I looked up. There was no doubt about it now, I was definitely in Asgard. Either that, or in a coma. There stood Loki, staring down at me in surprise. He was younger than I remembered, so I supposed _Thor_ hadn't happened yet. Loki crouched down, and my heart beat faster. I expected him to see right through my disguise (he was the god of lies, after all), but if he did, he didn't show it. He smiled and reached a hand out to rub my head. _Awkward..._

"How did _you _get here?" He said softly, more to himself then to me. Suddenly, we were both startled by a loud voice.

"Brother!" Loki winced. Without turning around, he said in an exasperated voice,

"Hello, Thor."

Thor bounded up beside him.

"There you are, brother, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Loki rolled his eyes.

"Well, now you've found me. What do you need?"

But Thor wasn't paying attention. He had finally seen me.

"Who's this?" he asked, crouching down for a better look.

"She's a cat," Loki said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I see that. Does she have a name?" Loki shook his head.

"Not at the moment, no. I only just found her." Thor grinned,

"We shall call her 'Kira,' then!" (**A/N Kira means "small, dark one" in Norse**)

"You just named my cat," Loki said, raising his eyebrow. I was shocked. He thought of me as _his_ cat? Thor only chuckled.

"But it is fitting, is it not?" Loki sighed.

"Have it your way, then. By the way, was there a reason you were looking for me?"

"Ah, yes. Lady Sif and the Warriors are going on a hunting trip. I was wondering if you would like to join us?" Loki sighed.

"You know how I feel about hunting, Thor. Go have your fun, I would only get in the way." And without a second thought, he scooped me up, and walked away.

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**A/N Yay, finally in Asgard! Please review and tell me what you think. Did I get the characters right?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Sorry for the delay, guys, I was trying to post this yesterday, but ****_every single time_**** I try to write something, something happens, and the window exes out without saving, and I lose all of my work, and the only way to restore it is to retype the ****_whole entire thing. _****Gosh, I hate my computer. On a lighter note, thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews! And, Rubi Yuki, that is a great idea, and I will use it very soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. In fact, I'm not even legally allowed to own anything because I'm under 18 years of age *sobs hysterically*.**

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Loki carried me through so many passages, I would never be able to find my way back on my own. I tried to keep track in my head, _left, left, right, left, right, up the stairs, left..._but it was impossible. I finally gave up, and admired the architecture instead. There were so many columns and arches, and everything was, like, pure gold. _How in the world did they get so much gold?_ I wondered. Then we arrived. Ahead of us was a large set of double doors, which Loki opened, and we slipped inside.

It was the library. And it was _huge._There were shelves upon shelves of books, I couldn't even see the back wall. It was nearly twenty times the size of my local library back in Tennessee (admittedly not the largest library in the world, but still), and that's why it hit me so hard. The silence. I mean, it was a library, it was supposed to be quiet, but not _that_ quiet. I looked around and realized, _it's nearly completely empty_. In the whole enormity of the library, there were only three other people, including the librarian, a wizened old man sitting behind a desk looking bored out of his mind.

I looked at Loki with a confused expression on my face (or as much as is possible when you're a cat), hoping he would get my meaning. Apparently, he did.

"Reading is not exactly...favored among the Asgardians, despite the large quantity of books. Most prefer the more physical activities, such as hunting or sparring."

I nodded my head to show I understood, and he seemed mildly surprised, and slightly smug.

"So you _can_ understand me. I thought so, judging by the way you made facial expressions while I talked with Thor."

I nodded again, although it wasn't really necessary. He furrowed his brow.

"I wish there was a way for me to understand you. There must be some sort of spell..." Then his face cleared.

"I know!" He started walking briskly toward the back of the library. About four rows from the back, he set me down, then turned and started to scan the shelves, muttering to himself. I stared at him, mentally comparing him to the Loki I knew from the movies. I wondered how long it was until the events of _Thor. _Looking at him now, he didn't seem evil at all, although his relationship with Thor was...tense, judging by their earlier conversation. But other than that, he was completely sane, and actually rather pleasant.

"Here it is!" Loki exclaimed as he pulled a book from the shelf. I followed him over to a small table, where he flipped through the book, sending up a cloud of dust. Obviously, not one of the newer additions. He seemed to find what he was looking for, and, after quickly scanning the page, he folded over the corner to mark it. Then he stood, picked up the book, signaled for me to follow, and walked back to the front of the library.

"Mimir," he called softly, and the old librarian looked up and smiled.

"Ah, Loki, what have you got this time?" Loki, it seemed, came here frequently. He set the book down on the desk, then went to sign it out on a little sheet on the edge of the desk. Mimir studied the book.

"Another book of spells? Soon you will be contesting Odin himself!" he joked. Loki smirked.

"We both know that could never happen," he said. He turned to leave, but then seemed to remember something and turned back,

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare piece of leather around here, would you?" Mimir assumed a thoughtful expression.

"Leather? Hmm, let me see..." he opened one of the many drawers in his desk and rummaged about in it for a few seconds.

"Ah ha! Here we are," he pulled out a strip of soft leather about two centimeters wide and twenty centimeters long. Loki smiled.

"Thank you, Mimir," he said, then took the leather, and the book, and strode out the door, me at his heels.

"Anytime!" The old man called softly, then resumed his earlier task of staring at the wall.

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**A/N Woohoo! Finally have chapter 3 up! As always, please review! I love to hear your thoughts, and new ideas are always welcome! Happy holidays! (P.S. Did anyone just notice how many exclamation points are in this author's note? It's crazy...)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys, I am so sorry, I haven't posted in a month, but I can explain! *Thinks deeply for ten minutes* Okay, no I can't. Normally I would make up some sort of lousy excuse, but I actually had plenty of opportunities to update in the past, I just wasn't feeling up to it. Please don't kill me. I gave you an extra long chapter to make up for it! Chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: I don't even know who does own Marvel, so it's safe to say I don't. And I don't own Doctor Who either.**

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Loki led me through the castle again, though for a much shorter distance this time. We arrived at a simple wooden door, which opened to a luxurious living quarter, presumably Loki's, judging by the color scheme, books, and the fact that he didn't knock. He had lots of books. Nothing compared to the library, but still a fair number, estimating to about 50 or 60. He walked straight over to his desk, cleared off a small section of it, and put down his book and leather. He always did everything with a purpose, I observed. Never once did I see him confused or uncertain; I supposed it was he planned everything out ahead of time. I wish I could do that.

Loki flipped the book back open to the marked page, and scanned it over and over, before taking the leather, placing it before him, and mutter/chanting under his breath. The piece of leather shimmered green for a moment, before returning to normal. Loki sat back and admired his work, before turning to me. He waved his hand, and the strip of leather fashioned itself into a collar, and gently wrapped itself around my neck. I watched in fascination as it seemed to mold itself to fit me perfectly. _Wow,_ I thought. I jerked up in surprise when I heard my voice echo in the room. Loki grinned.

"You can now speak telepathically to anyone you wish."

_Anyone?_ I thought, testing it out.

"Anyone. The collar is programmed for Allspeak, and will automatically translate your thoughts, and the words of the people you speak to."

Something occurred to me then.

_What about thoughts that I would rather keep hidden?_

Loki smirked.

"You are quite intelligent for an animal. All you must do is think about speaking the thought you wish other people to hear, and the collar will project it for you. If you do not want to say something aloud, the collar will know. Essentially, it is connected to you now."

I nodded and smiled. Sort of. It's hard to make a smile look pleasant when you don't really have lips. _Telepathy,_ I thought without saying. My mind drifted to a quote I remembered from _Doctor Who_, a show I had watched back on Earth: "A door once opened may be stepped through in either direction." The Madame de Pompadour, reading the Doctor's mind as he's reading hers. Since everyone I talked to was technically reading my mind, I started to wonder.  
_Worth a shot, right?_ I asked myself. I stared at Loki, right in the eye, and tried to see his thoughts. Nothing happened. _Oh, well. _It occurred to me that, as a scholar and a magician, he would probably know how to guard his mind, so I decided that my theory wasn't completely out of the question. I just had to wait for the right moment to try again. My thoughts switched back to the present.

_Now what?_ I asked, getting rather bored of sitting silently in the middle of Loki's floor. My question was answered before Loki even had a chance to speak. There was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Loki responded.

A servant cracked open the door.

"My lord, the All-father requests your presence at breakfast."

"Ah, thank you. You may tell him I will be down in a moment."

The servant bowed and backed out, closing the door behind him. Loki turned to me again.

"Hungry?" he asked, then he stood and strode out the door, me following closely behind, so as not to get lost. We walked for awhile, but we got to the dining area eventually, and saw the other members of the royal family sitting around a large table. Everyone looked up at our arrival. Thor and Frigga smiled, and Odin gave his equivalent of a warm look (a poker face). Frigga noticed me first.

"I see you have a new companion." she said, reaching down to stroke my back. I would never get used to that. Loki smiled and took his seat.

"Her name is Kira," Thor broke in. And Loki's brow furrowed.

"I forgot to ask. Is that really your name?" he said, looking down at me. I shook my head.

_No, but it's fine._ I didn't really think that "Alison" would make a very good name for a cat.

Everyone's heads jerked towards me.

"She can talk?!" Thor exclaimed. Loki hid a smirk.

"Her collar is enchanted. She can communicate her thoughts through it." He explained

Frigga nodded, as if she had expected nothing less of her youngest son, Odin's eye twitched, but otherwise he showed no other signs of emotion, and Thor looked very impressed.

It was Frigga, again, who broke the silence.

"Well I suppose Kira must have something to eat too. Jari?" A servant rushed over.

"Yes m'lady?"

"Prepare some fish for this cat."

"Yes m'lady." Jari ran off to the kitchens.

I was worried now. It's not that I mind fish, or anything, it's just, if that's what they were going serve me every meal, I would be sick before the next day. Though my body had changed into that of a cat, my mind was the same, and so were my taste buds. I didn't really want to draw attention to myself as the only cat who didn't eat fish, because that might seem suspicious, but I didn't want to eat it three times a day either. I decided that I would eat it this time, and privately confront Loki about it later.

The servant returned with my food. I picked at it, carefully avoiding the bones, even if that was weird for a cat. As I ate, I listened in to their dinner conversation.

"Thor, your mother and I have discussed this together, and have come to the conclusion that you are indeed ready to be king," Odin said.

That got my attention. It seemed we were closer to the events of _Thor_ than I had originally thought.

Thor bowed his head, and I could practically feel the excitement radiating off of him.

"Thank you, Father. I am honored." he said, barely managing to keep his voice under control. Odin nodded.

"As you should be. Now, your coronation will be sometime within the next year. In the meantime, you will pay close attention to your studies, and learn everything you can. Remember, being king is not just an honor, it is a responsibility."

"Yes, Father."

I heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor, and looked up to see Loki. His face was blank, but I knew he was inwardly seething. I remembered what happened on Thor's coronation day, and I could practically see the gears turning inside Loki's head, planning, plotting.

"Loki?" Frigga asked, concerned.

"Excuse me. I am going to my room."

And for the second time that day, he turned on his heel and left without a second glance.

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**A/N Yay! I hope you liked this chapter. Again, I'm sorry for being so late, I really hope I made it up to you. I appreciate all of the reviews and feedback I've been getting, and more comments are always welcome! I will try to update soon. ~I.A.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! I've actually gotten chapter 5 up less than a week after chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel. 'Nuff said.**

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I followed Loki back to his room in silence. I figured now was probably not the time to talk to him about my dietary habits. I was actually quite impressed with his ability to hide his emotions, although I didn't miss the slight jaw clench after we left the dining hall. As soon as he closed his bedroom door, though, he let it go.

"AAAARGH!" He screamed, kicking his chair so hard it flew across the room. I flinched in surprise. He hadn't really seemed like the yelling type before. He stood there, head bowed, breathing heavily. He looked so crushed, I felt like hugging him. Instead, I brushed up against his leg in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. He fell onto his bed and stayed there for a while, head in his hands, until finally, he spoke up.

"Why doesn't Father love me?" he asked quietly, more to himself than to me. I didn't know what to do. I could tell him about his heritage, but then he might hate me too, plus, I was supposed to be a random cat that he found in the hallway, not some magical psychic. I went with a simpler approach.

_Odin _does_ love you, _I said softly. Loki snorted bitterly.

"He has an odd way of showing it, then."

There was something that had nagged me ever since I had watched the movie, and I brought it up then.

_Isn't it normal for the eldest sibling to inherit the throne?_

"In other kingdoms, yes. But in Asgard, the throne has always fallen on the one thought most worthy."

I sighed. So much for that idea. Now I knew exactly why Loki felt the way he did. I hadn't really liked Thor in the beginning because he was so arrogant, and to have your own father tell you that your rash, reckless older brother would make a better king than you...it must hurt. I jumped up onto the bed and curled up next to him. I had no idea what to say. He put his hand on my back, and stroked my fur absent-mindedly. My thoughts drifted to the idea I had had before breakfast. _H__e's sure to have his guard down now, he's heartbroken_. I looked into his eyes again, and tried pushing my mind into his, rather than pulling his into mine like I did last time. I was immediately overcome by a flood of emotions. _Anger, disappointment, resignation, hate, injustice... _all of it rushing into me as if a dam had been broken. It was too much, I ripped my mind away from his, quickly looking somewhere else. Good news was, it worked. I guess I should have been a little excited, but looking at Loki, I just felt sad. He had so much pent up emotion, and he never let any of it show, instead hiding it away behind a blank facade. And it scared me. While I was in his mind, I nearly lost myself. His emotions felt so real, it was like I was experiencing them, rather than him.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my reverie.

"Loki!" it was Thor.

Loki didn't respond.

"Loki, please. Let me in."

"Go away."

Thor sighed.

"If you do not let me in, I will break down this door."

Loki huffed, then walked over to the door and opened it. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry." Thor said. Loki looked surprised.

"What for?" He asked.

Thor opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He looked a bit confused. It was Loki that spoke up.

"Thor, it isn't your fault that Father loves you more. It was Odin's choice."

"Father loves you, Loki!" Thor finally exclaimed, "You're his son!"

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but I don't exactly look it, do I?"

Thor's eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to really look at his brother for the first time in his life.

"No," he admitted finally. Loki smirked.

"Like I said, it was Odin's choice, there is no need for you to apologize. Now go away!" He said, playfully shutting the door in Thor's face. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Then he walked over, picked up his chair, and sat down at his desk. He picked up one of his many books, and began to read. Seeing that he probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, I curled up on his bed, and took a nap.

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**A/N I wasn't really sure about this chapter, I was really tired when I wrote it. I hope you think it was okay!**


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